Loving Lillian Madison Designs

I discovered Lillian Madison Designs through a Pinups of Color post on Instagram. I was so pleased to see an accessory that you could customise not only to your own style, but your own skin tone as well. I was not alone in my reaction as there were lots of comments from people who were so happy to see different skin tones being represented.

To many people finding an accessory in a similar skin tone to your own may not seem like a real issue. However growing up I never saw a doll that looked like me, make-up was swatched on skin tones I couldn’t relate to and when I entered the pin-up and vintage world, accessories still lacked diversity. Thankfully things are changing; many make-up brands are using models in a variety of skin tones, dolls are being made in different shapes and colours and Angelina of Lillian Madison is helping to diversify pin-up accessories. All of these efforts (no matter how big or small) help to show the world that there is not just one shade of beauty!

In Angelina’s words:

There are so many shades of beauty in the world and I wanted to make a brooch to represent that.
I designed and created these cute Vixen Pinup Brooches to reflect every woman in every skin tone.

I knew I definitely had to get my own mini-Cacao and, as a good pin-up wifey, I had to get Flo involved.

When I showed her the brooches, she was really impressed by the amount of customisation you could have. You don’t just choose skin colour; you can choose hair, dress, shoe and jewellery colours too. If that’s not enough, you can even choose to add glitter to the different options at no extra cost. There are hundreds of combinations to choose from – it was pretty difficult to make a decision!

Each brooch cost $40 and was shipped in the US, though keep in mind that there’s an option for international shipping too – just be aware of customs charges.

Angelina’s customer service was great throughout. She thoughtfully sent us images of our brooches mid-production so we could see what they looked like before she added resin.

The brooches arrived in sturdy packaging with a lovely note from Lillian herself.

Each brooch comes with a date of creation, which is a nice touch. These brooches aren’t thin and flimsy but they aren’t too chunky either, they are definitely robust enough to withstand the strains of everyday life.

Upon receipt of our brooches, Flo and I obviously had to have a go at recreating the looks of our new mini-mes. Flo’s outfit is by Vivien of Holloway and my dress is by Collectif Clothing.